Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen's Old-Fashioned Fashion Empire

Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen may be known for their daring fashion sense, but when it comes to running a four-brand business, their approach is decidedly more traditional. “At the end of the day, we know that every decision we make, we can hold ourselves accountable,” Ashley explains to Style.com of CFDA-nominated collection The Row. “We’ve made every hire; we know everyone’s salary. We run The Row, from start to finish,” she adds, to WWD. But regardless of highly coveted critical success, the sisters continue to strive for production quality. “Each season, more and more, we dive deeper into techniques,” Ashley says. And in spite of the brand’s online presence (“When we started selling The Row to Net-a-Porter, overnight it became our third largest retailer,” says Mary-Kate) they remain committed to traditional customers. “For me personally, I like to walk into a store and feel the fabric, try it on, see everything,” Mary-Kate tells WWD. And the prospect of reaching fans over Twitter? “That makes me so anxious,” Ashley confides. —Justine Harman